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W/e 20th December 2009

Coventry Crusaders 101 (23,42,59,83)

Leopards 92 (20,45,61,83)

After overtime

Leopards found overtime a step too far as their depleted team went down to a disappointing defeat at Coventry, on Saturday.

Missing overseas pair Ignazio De Ferrari and Francesco Rinaldi, the Big Cats let a late lead slip away in the midlands and then struggled in the extra period.

Jon Burnell’s team now go into the Christmas break lying ninth in the England Basketball League table, and will need a considerable improvement to achieve their aim of a top four finish and home court advantage in the play-offs.

Carl Latham-Henry poured in 36 points for the seven-man Big Cats who were forced to kit up assistant coach Graham Hiscock on his 47th birthday, with Leigh Greenan adding 17 and Sam Richardson 11.

The game started poorly for the visitors as Crusaders drained three treys in the opening three minutes to lead 13-0.

Latham-Henry finally broke the tear from the free-throw line, and although Steve Danso took his tally to eight with a jump-shot, Chris Michaelides launched a 12 run with a basket.

Greenan hit three straight baskets, the final of which saw him complete a three-point play before Latham-Henry also drained a bonus shot to cut the home side’s lead to 15-14 with three minutes of the half remaining.

Tims and Crusaders’ American captain Jon Ollinger ended the run, but Greenan and Latham-Henry remain perfect from the foul line before a Richardson basket saw Leopards go into the first only trailing 23-20.

The second quarter proved to be Leopards’ best of the game and Latham-Henry scored the first seven points of the period to put the visitors 27-20 ahead.

Danso broke the tear, but back-to-back three-pointers from Jonny Wright saw Leopards remain in front, and with Greenan sitting on the bench in foul trouble, Richardson stepped up to hit seven points and send Leopards into the final minute of the half 42-39 ahead.

Dave Edden cut that lead to one, only for Latham-Henry to reply, and although Ollinger buried a trey to level the score, Latham-Henry converted a three-point play to send the Big Cats into half-time with a 47-44 lead.

Greenan and Richardson kept the visitors ahead in the early minutes of the second half before they looked to have taken control of the game with an 8-0 run which saw Marlan Henry hit six points to put them 59-50 ahead.

However, Leopards let the home side back into the game, and with only two Ronnie Baker freet-throws in the final two minutes, Crusaders finished strongly to close out the period with a 9-2 run and reduce Leopards’ lead to 61-59.

That advantage quickly evaporated as Simon Payne and Danso gave the home side a two point advantage.

Baker and Michaelides both drained from the Land of Plenty to put Leopards back in the driving seat, and three from five foul shooting by Latham-Henry kept them ahead going into the final four minutes of regulation time.

Four quick points from Edden and Danso saw Crusaders take a 73-70 lead, but Latham-Henry continued his scoring spree before Michaelides hit a three to put the visitors back into front.

A pair of Greenan foul shots put Leopards 81-78 ahead going into the final 90 seconds, but a Richardson foul on Edden saw him convert a three-point play to tie the score at 81.

Baker went coast-to-coast to restore the visitors’ advantage, only to see Timms score at the other end.

With 23 seconds remaining, Crusaders looked likely to have the final shot, but a good stop saw Leopards have the ball with 12 seconds on the clock – however a disjointed play saw them fail to get the shot off on time and the game entered the extra period.

Greenan scored his first field goal since midway through the third period to open overtime, but the theory that the first team to score in added time wins the game proved to be false as Ryann Samuel and Edden helped Crusaders to a 92-7 lead with two minutes left.

Richardson gave the Big Cats hope, but Ollinger hit a pair of free-throws and Taylor hit a jump shot  to make it a seven points game, before Latham-Henry it his 35th and 36th points from the foul line.

His effort proved in vain, though, and Coventry sealed the win from the charity stripe to send the visitors into the Christmas break on a low.

C Latham-Henry 36, L Greenan 17, S Richardson 11, R Baker 8, C Michaelides 8, J Wright 6, M Henry 6, G Hiscock (DNP).

 

Trailblazers edge Leeds in end of year thriller

Derby Trailblazers  71  (17, 36, 55)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Leeds Carnegie  69 (11, 33, 56)   }

Derby Trailblazers ended 2009 with a thrilling two point home win over Leeds Carnegie. After Joel Madourie held his nerve to sink one of two free-throws, Leeds still had seven seconds left in which to try and get a score to force overtime or win the game outright.

However, strong defence from the Trailblazers ensured shots from Adrian Fenyn and Albert Margai fell wide of the mark, handing Derby a morale boosting victory ahead. It was the perfect response from the Trailblazers as they sought to erase the memory of their cup semi-final defeat to Bristol and restore some pride ahead of the Christmas and New Year break.

Despite once again being without the league’s leading rebounder Dave Attewell, the Trailblazers dominated the boards through the game, with Mark Woodhouse, Madourie and Sam O’Shea combing to capture 25 of Derby’s 42 rebounds.

Simon Allaway set the Blazers on their way with a three-pointer off an assist from Matt Shaw. O’Shea then provided Derby’s next three points in the form of a field goal and one from two at the line, as Leeds found it impossible to penetrate the Trailblazers intense defence.

It took them nearly three minutes to get their first score and although they twice closed the gap to a solitary point, it was Derby who had the better of the opening period, leading 71-11 as the first buzzer sounded.

Leeds responded well as the second quarter got underway, scoring the first nine points of the period, with Adrian Fenyn starting to make his mark on his way to a game high 22 points. When Zoltan Supola made a two point basket midway through the second, Carnegie’s advantage stood at 23-29 and the visitors were starting to look a lot more at ease.

Martyn Gayle got Derby back on track with a three and a subsequent three point play from Madourie tied the game at 31-all two minutes before the break. A further three-pointer from Shaw sent the Blazers into the locker room with a 36-33 advantage.

Derby got off to another good start in the third, stretching their lead to 42-35 and it probably would have been more, had O’Shea not been called for an offensive foul two and a half minutes into the quarter.

This being his third foul, Coach Clarence Wiggins called him back to the bench and Carnegie capitalised with a 19-9 run to take a one point lead into the final period.

A two pointer from Gayle put Derby back in front early in the fourth and they maintained their advantage until Margai made his only three of the night, to hand Leeds a 64-66 advantage. With one minute forty left to play, an assist from Shaw enabled Allaway to restore Derby’s advantage, as they opened a 69-68 lead.

Shaw then made one of two at the line before Mike Medved did likewise for Leeds. Neither side were able to score on their next possession and an offensive foul from Ladi Brown led to Madourie sealing the victory for Derby, as he made one from two at the line.

Coach Clarence Wiggins says it was an excellent victory for his side:

“The players were all looking forward to having a reasonable holiday after working hard in the first half of the season and the only they could do that was if we won the basketball game. We produced a lot of quality stuff along with some bad stuff along the way which kept the game close, but hey I’ll take that because we won the ball game!

“I thought our intensity was a lot better than it was against Bristol and we rebounded the ball a lot better too. Those were the two key things we identified as being major weaknesses in our cup semi-final defeat last weekend, so I was very pleased.

“I thought Sam [O’Shea] did a great job on the glass, but he didn’t get much protection from the refs so he didn’t play as minutes as I would’ve like. But when he was on court, he himself into good positions to get the ball and along with Mark [Woodhouse] and Joel [Madourie], they gave us a strong rebounding presence.

“Woody showed he’s getting physically better after his injury. I said last week that he’s a warrior and I think he showed that against Leeds. His attitude is superb and he went out and played really well despite still being in pain. I just hope that the Christmas break will give him and Dave [Attewell] a chance to recover properly before we go into the second half of the season,” he said.

Derby: Woodhouse 16, O’Shea 15, Allaway 11, Gayle 10, Madourie 10, Shaw 6, Baker 3, Spencer 0, Liutkus 0, Bowen DNP.

Leeds: Fenyn 22, Supola 15, Brown 13, Medved 12, Margai 5, Siddall 2, Herczeg 0, Polya 0, Ward 0, Richards DNP, Fitzpatrick DNP

W/e 13th December 2009

Tigers put brakes on Magic’s 13-game win streak

Manchester Magic 89 - 97 Taunton Tiger

Alas, all good things must come to an end – The Taunton Tigers halted the Magic’s 13-game winning streak with an 89 – 97 victory at the Amaechi Basketball Centre on Saturday evening.

Tigers forward Christopher Page led all scorers with 36 points and 11 rebounds as the visitors snapped a three game league losing streak with victory over the league leaders. Forward Paul Yabsley added 32 points and guard Joseph Andrews scored 19 as the win saw the Tigers leap up to 4th place in the Division One standings
David Watts scored 26 and Stefan Gill finished with 22 points and 7 assists as the Magic allowed their opponents to get to the free-throw line 28 times in the contest, and visitors knew exactly what to do when they got there knocking down 75% of their free-throw attempts on the night.

A layup by Andrews gave them an early 15-8 lead, but Kimbrough also made a blistering start for the home side, knocking down four of his first five shots for ten first quarter points. His 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Magic 20-19 lead with 1:59 to play in the period but the Tigers made it clear from the offset that they would not be intimidated by their opponents, and a 3-pointer (off the glass) from Andrews meant that the scores were tied at 24 after one.

The Tigers came into the game well prepared and set out to limit the home side’s ability to run by picking up the Magic guards deep in their own half. Without their usual transition opportunities the Magic seemed happy to settle for their 3-point shot but it was a night where they struggled to make them; connecting on only 27% of their shots from behind the 3-point arc.
The visitors continued to find success inside the arc scoring 10 of the first 12 points in the second quarter to lead 34-26 as the Magic mis-fired from the outside on four straight possessions. The visitors seemed much more comfortable operating on the low block and outscored their hosts 36-26 in the paint. A turnaround jumper by Watts pulled the Magic to within two points but the Tigers countered immediately with a 3-point play from Page. After the Magic failed to score on back-to-back possessions the visitors increased their lead to nine points with 1:30 to play in the half following a finger-roll by forward Adam Rickwood. But Kimbrough scored a layup and Watts knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key to pull the Magic within four points at halftime.
The Tigers began the second half with a flurry as Page drained back-to-back 3-pointers which put the visitors up by double digits for the first time in the game. The Magic responded with a 3-pointer from forward Adam Slater, but Page added another 3-pointer and a layup after some nifty footwork inside to give the visitors a 52-61 advantage with 4:20 to play in the 3rd quarter.
As the third period ticked away the Magic found more success attacking the basket and they soon found a route back into the game via the free-throw line. The home side made 6-of-8 from the charity stripe over the final three minutes of the third quarter and managed to reduce the Tigers lead to just two points after forward Nathan Schall made 1-of-2 from the line. But Page scored his fourth 3-pointer of the period with 50 seconds to play to give the visitors a 66-61 lead going into the final quarter.
The Magic made the perfect start to the fourth quarter with Gill picking off a pass from Tigers guard Sean Clifford and taking the ball the length of the court for an uncontested dunk. The home crowd began to bubble with anticipation as their side gathered momentum and finally took the lead following a layup by Kimbrough with 7:52 to play. But the Tigers answered back with a 3-pointer by Andrews from the left corner which sparked a 12-3 run for the visitors. Yabsley scored seven points during that stretch; his final two coming on a driving scoop-shot which gave the Tigers a 72-81 lead with 4:22 to play in the game.
Watts knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Magic defecit to six points with 3:29 left but Rickwood banked in a jump-shot from the free-throw line to put the Tigers up by eight. Gill and Watts both made 3-pointers late on as the Magic fought to retain their unbeaten status, but as the seconds ticked away they were forced to foul and put the visitors on the line. The Tigers remained composed and made 12 of their final 14 attempts from the charity stripe to leave the ABC with an unexpected but well deserved victory against the league leaders.  

The loss means that the Magic are now tied for first place in Division One alongside Leeds Carnegie who have also won six games and lost one.
Top Scorers
Manchester Magic: David Watts 26, Stefan Gill 25, Brandon Kimbrough 22
Taunton Tigers: Christopher Page 36, Paul Yabsley 32, Joseph Andrews 19
 

 

Reading Rockets 92   Sheffield Arrows 77

With their highest points score of the season, Rockets won their last league game of 2009, convincingly.

Sheffield outscored Rockets in the opening quarter and had a 7-point advantage early in the game as Rockets missed many open shots.  The highlight of the opening period was sound excellent defensive boards work by Robbie Parker as he released Louis Sayers, only to arrive fast, collect the return pass and score, giving Rockets the lift they needed.  A double block by the taller of the Sayers boys and a one- two between them saw Jason score again to reduce the deficit to just 3 points at the first break at 12 points to 15.  

Rockets' captain Lohfink again showed the importance of rising well on the offensive boards as he scored moments before the shortest player on court, Rockets' Jon May went coast to coast to score and draw Rockets level on 16 points.  The next five minutes were key to Rockets as Kenny Saunders blocked a Arrows shot and set up a fast break for Rockets to score with a lay up as Jason Sayers hit a glorious three pointer, Adam Thoseby went the whole length of the court to score and a superb spin move by Lohfink saw Rockets begin to move away from Arrows.  When Fenny Falmagne gratefully accepted a penetrating pass from Parker to score and quickly followed this with a dunk, the Rockets supporters were well pleased with the intensity and skill.  A double handed dunk from Saunders took Rockets into the interval 35 – 25 up as Rockets' physio, Jess Pascall, took time to assess and then strap Sheffield's Purnell who dislocated his shoulder just 3 seconds before halftime.

Rockets' offence continued with the momentum it had built up in quarter two though Sheffield hit the first 7 points of the 3rd period.  A pair of threes from Parker and Louis Sayers created by good team play saw Rockets with a 15 point lead half way into this quarter.  Whole court presses caused Sheffield turnovers from which Rockets passed quickly and accurately giving Saunders, Lohfink and May easy finishes.  Thoseby hit a peach of a bounce pass for Saunders to score and then when a finger roll was coming back, Saunders pounced again to dunk for 2 more points.  Falmagne finished this period strongly with 4 personal points as Rockets headed for the last quarter 65 points to 48 up.  

When Saunders released Thoseby and Jason Sayers hit his second three of the evening, Rockets' lead was 22 points.  Sheffield hit back momentarily but a big final quarter from Parker – 11 personal points - coupled to some excellent passing, effective defensive work and team play saw Rockets win comfortably by 92 points to 77.

Top scorers for Rockets: Robbie Parker 20, Ryan Lohfink 15 (with 9 rebounds) and Kenny Saunders 13 (with 8 rebounds).

W/e 6th December 2009

Reading Rockets 57  Manchester Magic 82

Manchester shot out of the blocks with 10 unanswered points with Rockets’ old boy, ‘Tintin’ Watts, most prominent with rejections, blocks and 6 quick points.  Robbie Parker got Rockets off the mark from the free throw line before hitting a glorious three.  With Jason Sayers tipping in a couple of shots and scoring with a drive and four penalty shots, Rockets were back in the game.  The quarter ended with Rockets having just a 4-point deficit at 14 – 18.

Within 40 seconds of the start of quarter two, Rockets were level thanks to a Jason Sayers 3 and one from two from the line.  Simon Kearney drove to the basket and gave a pass to Dan McKay and then Fenny Falmagne showed Rockets’ spurt with great hustle.  

Rockets were playing very well but then Manchester hit 3 consecutive threes to open up a 29 – 20 lead.  Some brilliant ball handling and passing by Rockets saw Jason Sayers stop the Manchester 11 – 0 run.  Though Rockets traded scores for the reminder of the period, Manchester went into the interval with a 9-point advantage at 37 points to 28.  

Manchester’s three guard spearhead had amassed 33 of the 37 points between them with ex Rockets ‘Tintin’ scoring 12 points but from Rockets point of view, more tellingly, had 5 blocks and 5 rejections, though Jason Sayers topped all scorers with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Dan McKay scored the bonus point having been fouled at the start of the third period and when Parker hit another three Rockets were just 6 points down.  Each team swapped scores for a few minutes, including a dunk, but then Rockets were hit with a 13 –5 Manchester run.  

The game was played a very fast pace but Manchester’s finishing was more clinical and this proved to be the deciding factor in the fourth and final quarter, when Manchester scored 22 points to Rockets’ 11 points.  Rockets’ field goal percentage was 50% inferior to Manchester though again all Rockets squad played a part.

Top scorers for Rockets were Jason Sayers with 16 points and 12 rebounds whilst Louis Sayers and Dan McKay both scored 10 points.

 

Bristol Academy Flyers 85 (24,42,66)

Leopards 90 (29,45,68)

Seven man Leopards returned from Bristol with their first away league victory of the campaign after a fine performance on Saturday evening.

With Carl Latham-Henry still missing with a back injury and Francesco Rinaldi also picking up a knock in training, the Big Cats travelled to the West Country with just seven players – with coach Jon Burnell and assistant Graham Hiscock kitting up in case of emergency.

To make matters worse, the visitors lost shooting guard Marlan Henry with a hip injury midway through the third period.It was big men Leigh Greenan and Ignazio De Ferrari who did most of the damage for Leopards, finishing with 28 and 27 points respectively, while Ronnie Baker led the team superbly and finished with 17 points.

Greenan was unstoppable in the opening minutes, scoring ten of their first 12 points off passes from Baker, with the veteran point guard adding the other two after an audacious fake, before De Ferrari opened his account with an massive trey to help his team go into the first break with a 29-24 lead.Baker and De Ferrari both hit treys for the visitors in a tight second period, and Leopards took a six-point lead going into the final minute of the half before a tap-in on the buzzer from Asa Waite cut Leopards lead to 45-42 going into the locker room.

A 10-0 run put Flyers 57-54 ahead at the midway stage of the third quarter, but two three-points from De Ferrari and one from Chris Michaelides sent Leopards into the final break 68-66 ahead.Scores from De Ferrari and Baker put Leopards 75-71 ahead with five minutes remaining, but although Richardson answered a pair of Greg Streete free-throws, Flyers cut the gap to a single point with three minutes remaining when McLaughlin-Williams drained from downtown.That proved to be as close as the hosts came down the stretch as Greenan converted an and-one, and a De Ferrari jumper gave the Big Cats an 83-77 lead going into the final two minutes and they sealed the victory from the line.

W/e 29th November 2009

Taunton Tigers 69  Reading Rockets 86

Rockets' double header weekend began with a trip to the South West where they demonstrated very clearly the quick and effective development they are making now Coach Punosevac has a full squad.

After Taunton won the tip and hit a three pointer, Rockets took charge of the game, never being headed for the reminder of the game.  Louis Sayers scored 11 personal points in the opening period with Robbie Parker and Adam Thoseby prominent as Rockets powered their way to a 23 – 13 first interval lead.

A huge three from truly downtown by Parker off Rockets' first possession of the second quarter heralded 10 personal points for him but also saw Rockets' latest recruit Kenny Saunders show more of his versatility with a block, a huge dunk off an offensive rebound and then finishing a quality Rockets' move.  Ryan Lohfink and Louis Sayers had taken Rockets' points from beyond the arc to 18 as Rockets led 42 – 26 at the break.  

Saunders scored well inside before giving two great assists, one to 6'9" 17 year old Steve Vaughan to open his account and a second, moments later, to Louis Sayers to score from the wing.  Rockets' lead was now 50 – 29, but the enthusiastic refereeing meant Lohfink and Vaughan were fouled out, and Taunton finished the quarter with regular trips to the free throw line, leaving Rockets with a 17 point lead at 60 points to 43.

Fenny Falmagne finished a fast break in Rockets' opening flurry of the last quarter, before Saunders repeated his dunk following up on the offensive boards before Louis Sayers hit his fifth 3 – pointer of the game.  Dan McKay troubled the scorers for the first time in the game finishing a clinical Rockets' fast break before scoring 3 from 4 from the free throw line.  A glorious fourth 3 pointer for Parker, a first from Simon Kearney, plus excellent offensive boards by Thoseby saw Rockets continue their domination, despite sporadic periods of pressure from Taunton, and Rockets won convincingly in the League for the second consecutive week.

Final score was 86 – 69 and though Louis Sayers 24, Robbie Parker 20 and Kenny Saunders 12 were Rockets' top scorers, this was a very good team performance giving much encouragement to the travelling supporters.

W/e 22nd November 2009

Trailblazers suffer agonising defeat by Manchester

Derby Trailblazers  68  (15, 39, 56)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Manchester Magic  69 (10, 27, 52)   }

It was one of those rare games which neither team deserved to lose. A game that featured basketball of the highest quality seen at Moorways for many years, but unfortunately for Derby, it was Manchester who came from behind to snatch victory at the death.

The Trailblazers had matched the Magic throughout the first quarter, thanks to some superb inside play from Sam O’Shea. Derby’s game plan of working to get the ball to him close to the hoop paid dividends as the former Leicester big man converted quality passes into eight first quarter points.

Simon Allaway’s only strike from behind the arc tie the game at 18-all at the start of the second period and the game was nip and tuck for the next four minutes. However, the remainder of the first half offered a glimpse of just how good this Derby team could become.

The Trailblazers embarked on a 19-5 run that deeply frustrated Manchester, who can find no-one through Derby’s defence. Amongst the offensive highlights were seven points for Martyn Gayle, five for Dave Attewell and an unbelievable ice-cool three pointer from Stedroy Baker to beat the half time buzzer.

When Gayle nailed another three to open the third period, the Trailblazers found themselves 42-30 ahead and looking set for a memorable victory. Moments later, Matt Shaw drew Stefan Gill’s fourth foul and the Manchester playmaker and hot shooter was sent back for a lengthy spell on the bench. Surely things could only get better for Derby from this point?

In time, that will probably be the case, but one or two momentary lapses in concentration left David Watts open on the three point line too often and the former Reading big man nailed a trio of three pointers as Manchester pulled it back to 56-52 at the end of the third.

Brandon Kimbrough then seemed to take over the game for the Magic. Back to back scores levelled the game and although Derby replied with baskets from Attewell and Joel Madourie, Kimbrough was next to score to leave his side 60-58 in arrears.

Derby continued to keep their noses in front until Gill returned to nail his third and final three pointer two minutes from time, tying the scores at 65-all. Watts then spotted up for another three giving Manchester the lead by three, only for Stedroy Baker to reply in kind.

With the scores tied at 68-all with ninety seconds left, the nerves began to show for both sides. Missed shots and turnovers followed, before Shaw was left with no option but to foul Watts to prevent a score with 17 seconds left.

He made one of two at the line, taking his total to the night to 26 points and forcing Derby to call a time out. The play was set to work the ball inside, but Manchester stepped up their defence to such a point that Shaw couldn’t get a quality pass inside to O’Shea.

Attewell somehow caught the ball, but failed to score as time ran out, leaving Derby agonisingly two points short of victory.

The Trailblazers Assistant Coach Jamie Maudsley was disappointed to see Derby miss out on a first ever victory over Manchester, but says the team achieved many of their objectives and will learn from the experience:

“We worked really hard on a few things during the week and a lot of that paid off in the game. We can’t fault the guys’ effort – they worked very hard, but there were a couple of lapses of concentration that allowed two of their guys to get going. But in terms of effort and intensity, I think we played as well as we’ve played all year.

“We didn’t execute as well as we thought we could’ve done, but take nothing away from Manchester, because they’re going to be tough to beat this year. It hurts to lose, but there are lots of positives we can take from the game. They’re got three guys who are scoring an awful lot of points and we kept two of them below their averages.

“Unfortunately, Kimbrough managed to step up early in the fourth. He’s an exceptional player and he made some really tough shots and that hurt us.

“If you’re looking for a reason why we didn’t win, I think it was because we didn’t execute properly down the stretch. We also missed too many free throws which was unacceptable because we actually had the guys we wanted to be shooting on the line and unfortunately we just couldn’t convert,” he said.

Dave Attewell finished as Derby’s top scorer and rebounder with 18 points and 20 rebounds; Sam O’Shea added 16 points in his best offensive performance to date.  

Derby: Attewell 18, O’Shea 16, Gayle 13, Baker 6, Madourie 6, Shaw 4, Allaway 3, Spencer 2,     Curtiss DNP, Hallam DNP, Woodhouse DNP.

Magic: Watts 26, Kimbrough 16, Gill 11, Fasbender 7, Pearson 3, Sutton 3, Avona 2, Fridel 1, Slater 0, Johnson DNP, McGinn DNP.

 

Horrendous journey leads to second successive defeat

London Leopards  69  (18, 40, 57)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Derby Trailblazers  65 (11, 31, 47)   }

A horrendously difficult journey to Essex left the Derby Trailblazers facing more than just London Leopards as they strived to bounce back from a home defeat to Manchester Magic less than 24 hours before.

The Trailblazers were advised by the host club to avoid the M25 due to a serious accident which had blocked the road, but the alternative route via the M11 was subsequently also closed, leaving Derby’s players frustrated and cramped up on a team bus which was going nowhere fast.

Not surprisingly, when they eventually arrived in Brentwood an hour after the scheduled tip off time, there were in no frame of mind to step straight onto court and perform, but that’s what they had to do as Leopards had commenced a fifteen minute countdown to tip off as soon as Derby’s players arrived in the building, much to the disgust of Trailblazers Assistant Coach Jamie Maudsley: “We set off before one o’clock and when we arrived at the venue just after six o’clock, they had already started the clock for a tip off at 6.15. By the time we were changed and out on court, we had eight minutes to warm up.

“Now to me, that’s unacceptable. You have a team that’s been stuck on a bus for over five hours and you give them eight minutes to warm up? It’s ridiculous. I think the rules state you’re supposed to have twenty minutes, so if this happens in future, if that’s the case, in my opinion we shouldn’t play the game.

“We’ll just get back on the bus and have England Basketball make a decision.  When we were in Division 2 Tamar Valley failed to arrive for one of our home games and we ended up having to replay the game,” he said.

Not surprisingly, it was Leopards who started the brighter, with Lee Greenan and Carl Latham-Henry dominating the opening plays for a 13-6 early lead. With just under three minutes of the first quarter remaining, Mark Woodhouse made his return from injury for the Trailblazers and his first touch was to provide the assist for a lay-up by Joel Madourie.

Madourie then turned provider for Dave Attewell to score inside, but from 13-10 down, the Trailblazers conceded five of the next six points to end the first quarter trailing 18-11.

The game stayed reasonably close for the next few minutes and after Martyn Gayle nailed a three, a steal and a slam dunk from Madourie cut the gap to 21-19. But far from turning the game around, the Trailblazers then began to struggle defensively.

Leopards went on a 19-7 run with Latham-Henry unstoppable from inside and out on his way to 18 first half points. Derby rallied briefly in the final minute of the first half, with Gayle netting a pair of free-throws and another three-pointer to cut the deficit to 40-31.

Five quick points from Simon Allaway at the start of the third got Derby right back into the game, but again the Trailblazers couldn’t get any closer, as Stedroy Baker’s twin brother Ronnie orchestrated the Leopards offensive in style. Baker hit 8 points in the quarter on his way to 15 points and 8 assists.

By the time the fourth quarter got underway, the fatigue of Saturday’s battle against Manchester and the nightmarish journey was beginning to show. The mistakes became more regular and a fifth foul on Sam O’Shea with six and half minutes left to play didn’t help.

Never-the-less, Derby continued to fight and with 11 seconds to go and the Trailblazers 67-64 in arrears, they thought Gayle had been fouled whilst shooting a three-pointer. The referee only awarded two shots, explaining the foul had come before Gayle’s attempted shot. As it happened, Martyn could only make one from two and the final points of the game went to Ronnie Baker who calmly sank two from two at the line.

On reflection, the circumstances transpired to make things very difficult for Derby and Maudsley is adamant they were the main reason the Trailblazers fell to a second successive defeat:

“For me, that’s the reason we struggled. I think we were down by ten points in the first quarter and I don’t think we’d have been in that sort of position if we’re allowed to prepare properly. I don’t think any sporting team can be expected to get ready to play a competitive game both physically and mentally in just eight minutes.

“We followed the directions given to us by Dave Ryan from Leopards who called us to warn us of traffic problems. We spoke to him numerous times and he said to go via a specific route. So we went with that route and unfortunately we end up sitting in a queue on the M11 for well over an hour.

“In the circumstances, we were never likely to start the game in our usual fashion. We did incredibly well to get back into it.”

Leopards: Latham-Henry 18, Baker 15, Henry 10, DeFerrai 8, Rinaldi 8, Greenan 6, Wright 3,    Michaelides 1, Richardson 0.

Derby: Gayle 16, Woodhouse 10, Allaway 9, Shaw 8, Attewell 7, Baker 4, Madourie 4, O’Shea 4, Spencer 2, Curtiss DNP.

 

Leopards               69 (18,40,57)

Derby Trailblazers 65 (11,31,47)

Leopards maintained their good home form as high-flying Derby Tralblazers were beaten at the Brentwood Centre.

The Big Cats led from the fourth minute of the game against a Trailblazers team who had gone into the weekend with ten straight wins under their belts.

Carl Latham-Henry again top scored for Jon Burnell’s team with 18 points, but was limited to 23 minutes after injuring his back midway through the third period.

Veteran point guard Ronnie Bakers finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Marlan Henry added ten points.

Simon Allaway opened the scoring for Derby, with Leigh Greenan replying for the hosts, and the Trailblazers final lead of the game came when Sam O’Shea collected a defensive rebound before hitting a jump shot at the other end.

Greenan levelled the score and launched a 7-0 run which saw Latham-Henry drain a three and Ignazio De Ferrari score a jump shot, and hosts went into quarter-time with an 18-10 lead.

Francesco Rinaldi and Latham-Henry kept Leopards ahead with three-pointers, and scores from De Ferrari and Latham-Henry saw the hosts extend their lead to 37-23 with three minutes of the half remaining.

Matt Shaw and Latham-Henry exchanged treys, but it was Derby who closed the half strongly as Martyn Gayle hit five straight points to cut Leopards’ lead to 40-31.

Latham-Henry left the game with 6:51 remaining, and Derby took advantage to cut the lead to 50-45 with two minutes of the quarter left, but treys from Baker and Marlan Henry put Leopards nine ahead, and Henry hit a free-throw to send the home side into the final break with a 57-47 lead.

De Ferrari and Henry replied, and three points from Baker meant that Leopards were 64-59 ahead going into the final two minutes of the game.

Shaw and Henry both turned the ball over at opposite ends of the court, before Leopards’ lead was cut to three with 1:26 on the clock as Allaway sunk a shot.

Leopards stayed ahead, but were just 67-65 up with eight second left. Spencer sent Baker to the line, and England’s most capped player showed his experience to sink both shots and seal the win.

Leopards coach Burnell was naturally a happy man after the game: “We played well, and it’s an important win for us. I thought we stayed cool even without Carl. All we have to do is find a way to win on the road.”

 

Coventry Crusaders  54   Reading Rockets 78

Saturday night saw Rockets gain their first league victory of the season, away in Coventry and they did this in convincing style.  Jon May, coming back from his fractured cheekbone was able to be part of the starting five for the first time in the competitive season, where he was joined by the Sayers brothers, Simon Kearney and captain Ryan Lohfink.  Rockets won the tip but Kearney’s shot rimmed out and it was Coventry that scored the first basket.  However it was not long before Lohfink was fouled and went to the penalty stripe to level the score.  Coventry never again had the lead.  Defence was tight by both sides but Lohfink began to rebound well and tip in balls – so great was his success that 12 of Rockets points in the first quarter were scored by him.  Louis Sayers scored off a fast break and while one of Jason Sayers’ shots rimmed out, Dan McKay rebounded and then after passing the ball around, scored.  The last score of the quarter was from McKay who attempted a jump shot off a fast break but was fouled – and made both baskets.  A great steal from McKay from a Coventry in pass finished the quarter but could not be converted into a score.

Rockets went into the second quarter 14 points ahead at 22 – 8.  Adam Thoseby, Robbie Parker, Jamie Ashwin, Jason Sayers and Dan McKay started the quarter and Thoseby got the first points.  Early in the quarter, Kenny Saunders, Rockets’ new American signing was introduced on court and started his Rockets career – however Rockets were still not troubling the scorers.  Having failed to score for three minutes, Coach Sasa made a total change of personnel on court but even that did not immediately stop Coventry in their tracks – Rockets had allowed Coventry to go on a 9 point run and reduce Rockets lead to 10.  Robbie Parker however broke the drought with a three, and when later another three rimmed out, Jason Sayers scored from the rebound, following this with a dunk.  Rockets were using the clock well and as the 24-second clock was about to expire, Lohfink was fouled and scored both from the penalty stripe.  However Coventry had won the quarter 23 – 17 and so Rockets went to the locker room only 8 point ahead – 39 – 31

Louis Sayers inbounded the ball at the start of the third and Jon May was fouled shooting and went to the line and scored the first.  The second rimmed out but Lohfink got hold of the ball and was himself fouled shooting.  With less than two minutes on the clock, Crusaders were already on team fouls.    The Sayers brothers were working well together and a Louis pass led to a Jason dunk.  However, Coventry were defending well and Rockets had a 24 second violation called against them, but got back on track with two three pointers, the first being from Louis Sayers who scored just as another 24 second period was about to expire.  When Kenny Saunders returned to the court, he showed his skill at rebounding.    He got on the score sheet for the first time in a Rockets vest when after a great steal and fast break, he was fouled and made both baskets.  A pass from Kearney to Saunders led to another two points for Rockets who finished the quarter with an 18-point lead.

A three pointer by Louis Sayers started the quarter, but for the first couple of minutes of the quarter both teams were trading baskets.   Coventry’s Taylor fouled out of the game early in the quarter and Kearney made two from the charity stripe.  Highlights of the quarter were the tight defending of Fenny Falmagne, who was playing in spite of carrying an injury, and the good rebounding of Kenny Saunders, whilst Thoseby made his mark with a great steal.  Coventry’s Samuel fouled off with just under 3 minutes to go, and whilst the resultant free throws were missed, Falmagne rebounded and scored.  The last basket of the quarter was a dunk by Kenny Saunders, who had made a significant contribution on his first outing as a Rocket, and this gave Rockets a final score of 78 to Coventry’s 54.

Rockets’ top scorers were Ryan Lohfink on 21 with Louis Sayers and Kenny Saunders on 10, but it had truly been a team effort, with each one of the twelve players getting on the score sheet.

 

Leicester Warriors 92 (14,36,64)

Leopards               85 (20,40,63)

Leopards were unable to build on a good start at Leicester as they went down to a narrow 92-85 defeat in the midlands on Saturday.

The Big Cats held a double digit lead with three first half minutes remaining, but eventually found the hosts’ strength-in-depth too much to handle.

Carl Latham-Henry again led Leopards, finishing with 27 points, while Leigh Greenan hit 18 despite suffering from foul trouble and Ignazio De Ferrari added 15.

With Marlan Henry missing due to work commitments, Francesco Rinaldi made his start in a Leopards vest, becoming the tenth different starter for Jon Burnell’s team this season.

Latham-Henry opened the scoring, and the English guard launched an 11-0 Leopards run as they took control of the game to go into the final break 20-14 ahead.

Carl Pearson  opened the second period scoring for the hosts, but a Latham-Henry trey followed by three-from-four foul shooting by the English guard put Leopards 26-16 ahead by De Ferrari completed the 8-0 tear.

Thomas and Mark Spatcher each added two points to make it an eight-point game, before Leopards looked to have taken a firm grip on the game with another 8-0 run. Chris Michaelides hit a single free-throw before burying a trey, and four points from De Ferrari made the score 36-20 in the visitors’ favour.

That was as good as it got though, and a 16-2 run saw the visitors’ lead to 40-36 going into the locker room.

The home side continued to control the game, and with only Latham-Henry scoring in the first four minutes as Warriors reeled off 11 points to extend the hosts’ run to 27-6.

Ronnie Baker broke the run, and with Sam Richardson scoring from the Land of Plenty, Leopards only trailed 64-63 at the final break.

The start of the fourth period continued to be nip and tuck, and four straight Baker points gave Leopards their first lead since early in the second half.

Warriors’ reply was swift as Janiska launched what proved to be the key 11-0 run before Greenan scored to cut the Leicester lead to 79-71 going into the final three minutes.

However a Latham-Henry trey followed by a pair from line by Baker made it a two point game with 100 seconds remaining.

Leopards picked up a defensive rebound, and Rinaladi looked set to level the score before being clattered in the paint. With no call, Warriors were able to break out, and the Big Cats were forced to send the home team to the line in the final minute where they sealed the victory.

W/e 15th November 2009

Leopards            71 (16,35,43)

Leeds Carnegie 58 (12,33,46)

A strong fourth period set Leopards up for their first Division One victory of the season at the Brentwood Centre on Sunday.

The Big Cats outscored a Leeds side previously unbeaten in the league 28-12 in the final quarter to move up to ninth in the table.

Carl Latham-Henry led the Leopards’ scoring for the seventh time this season with 22 points, adding six rebounds and four assists.

Ignazio De Ferrari added 13 points and an impressive seven blocks, while Marlan Henry finished with 11 points and Leigh Greenan had a ten point, 15 rebound double-double.

The Big Cats took advantage of some poor free-throw shooting from the visitors, hitting 13 of their 14 foul shots in comparison to Leeds’ 10 from 28, while Carnegie also failed to hit a three points, missing on 14 occasions.

Greenan opened the scoring for the Big Cats, and Latham-Henry hit a trey to give them a 5-0 lead.

Mike Medved broke the run, and launched an 8-0 Leeds tear to give them the lead. The first period was clearly full of runs as Leopards replied with six unanswered points, De Ferrari hitting a jump shot before Latham-Henry scored back-to-back baskets.

With Ronnie Baker getting the first two of his nine points, Leopards kept their noses in front, and went into the second period with a 16-12 lead.

Sam Richardson opened the second half scoring before Latham-Henry buried a three to put the home side 21-12 ahead.

Dave Siddall broke the 8-0 run with a pair of free-throws, but four straight misses at the foul line from Adrian Fenyn and Ladi Brown set the tone, and Baker punished them with a score from downtown to put the Leopards ahead by 12 after four minutes.

Brown and De Ferrari exchanged baskets, but Latham-Henry kept Leopards’ double digit lead intact as they went into the final four minutes of the half.

However, at that point Leopards suffered a scoring drought, and with Fenyn hitting six points, Leeds reeled off ten straight points to reduce the hosts lead to 30-29.

Greenan broke the run, but Zoltan Supola hit a pair of free-throws and Fenyn scored a jump shot to give the visitors a 33-32 lead heading into the final 20 seconds of the half before Henry ensured the Big Cats would take a two point lead into the locker room when he drained from downtown.

De Ferrari was the first player to put points on the board in the second half, but that proved to be Leopards’ only score of the first five minutes.

Leeds also struggled from the floor, with only Medved and Brown scoring from open play, and with the visitors hitting only one of their five free-throws they only took minimal advantage of Leopards’ drought to move 40-37 ahead.

Henry ended the run with a pair from the charity stripe and a Greenan put-back gave Leopards a 41-40.

However, Leeds finished the period the stronger, with only Henry scoring in the final three minutes as a 6-2 run sent Carnegie into the final break with a 46-43.

Latham-Henry cut that lead to one with a pair of free-throws to open the fourth period, and De Ferrari scored the Land of Plenty to put Leopards 48-46 ahead.

Medved and Francesco Rinaldi exchanged baskets, and the sides were tied at 52 going into the final five minutes of the game.

Fenyn missed a pair of free-throws before Latham-Henry hit a lay-up followed by a trey to give Leopards a lead they never lost.

Fenyn kept Leeds in touch, but back-to-back Henry scores saw Leopards’ lead extended to nine before Latham-Henry made it a double-digit lead.

With Leeds forced to foul to stop the clock, Baker and Greenan kept their nerve at the foul line to send the large Brentwood crowd home happy.

C Latham-Henry 22, I De Ferrari 13, M Henry 11, L Greenan 10, R Baker 9, F Rinaldi 4, S Richardson 2, J Wright, C Michaelides.

 

Magic Start Season 9-0 As They Fly Past Bristol
Manchester Magic 91 - 60 Bristol Academy Flyers
The Manchester Magic extended their winning streak to nine games with a comprehensive victory over the Bristol Academy Flyers on Saturday evening. Led by 30 points from Brandon Kimbrough and 27 from Stefan Gill the Magic raced out to an early lead as they demoralised their opponents with a barrage of 3-pointers in the first period.

The Magic's devastating 3-point attack stunned their opponents early on as they knocked down their first six attempts from behind the arc on their way to making 13-of-27 attempts from down-town with five Magic players scoring at least one 3-pointer in the contest.

Kimbrough scored 15 of his 30 points in the first quarter as he repeatedly used his lightening quick first step to blow by defenders before finishing deftly with an array of tough layups and jump shots.

Despite only missing five shots in the first quarter the Flyers were punished heavily for every miscue as the ultra-efficient Magic transition offence led to fast break layups which Gill and Kimbrough willingly converted. Most of the offence for the visitors was initiated by their dynamic point guard Greg Streete who used his length and creativity to produce several opportunities for himself and his team-mates but they misfired on several attempts early on and found themselves trailing by 16-0 with 6:50 to play in the first quarter.

The visitors eventually found their way at the offensive end and started to knock down their shots but they were unable to slow down Kimbrough. He continued to bewilder the Flyers defence with his devastating crossover dribbles which repeatedly had the Bristol defenders on the back foot as he relentlessly attacked the basket. He nailed a jump-shot with 15 seconds to play in the first period to give the Magic a well deserved 36-20 lead heading into the second quarter.

The Flyers had won their previous two games including a thrilling 71-70 victory over the Reading Rockets with forward Douglas McLaughlin-Williams scoring 21 points. But he had a quiet game against the Magic; finishing with 14 points and two rebounds and a team high five turnovers.

Magic captain Stefan Gill produced a splendid all round performance with 27 points, seven assists and four steals whilst connecting on six of his nine 3-pointer attempts (with four of them coming in the first quarter). After such an impressive start to the season I asked him how he plans to ensure that the team remains focused after their unbeaten start: "By constantly reminding them at practice and before games not to get complacent; we're a young team and each win builds their confidence and makes them hungrier instead of making them complacent”

agic forward David "Tin-Tin" Watts appears to have settled in well with his new team-mates and at 6'8 Watts has proven to be a matchup nightmare for opposing centres. With his combination of 3-point shooting and tremendous timing at the defensive end he has been able to block or alter several of the opposing players’ shots. He did most of his damage in the second quarter where he scored 10 of his 18 points to give the Magic a comfortable 58-35 lead at halftime.

The strong start that Kimbrough has made to the season has lightened the offensive load that Gill has had to carry and he has relished playing alongside the high scoring guard who is arguably the fastest player in the league.

"My game has adapted to the type of players we have in Brandon and Tin Tin, Brandon is very good at his job which make our jobs easier, the three of us read each other and play off each other very well. With players of that calibre on a team, my role becomes that much simpler as I don’t have to work as hard and waste unnecessary energy."

The Magic will face a sterner test in their next league fixture as they face the Derby Trailblazers who are also unbeaten following three straight victories as the Magic look to push their unbeaten streak to double digits.

Top Scorers:

Manchester Magic - Brandon Kimbrough 30, Stefan Gill 27, David Watts 18
Bristol Academy Flyers - Greg Streete 20, Douglas McLaughlin-Williams 14, Anthony Berry / Davis Brown 8

 

Trailblazers Make History in Reading

Reading Rockets  60  (09, 22, 41)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Derby Trailblazers  81 (23, 39, 64)   }

Derby Trailblazers recorded their first ever victory over Reading Rockets off the back of an excellent all round team performance. It was Derby’s tenth straight win in all competitions and it left Coach Clarence Wiggins delighted: “It’s always good to win a basketball game and our objective is to win as many as possible, so beating Reading for the first time is really pleasing,” he said.

Despite still being without Mark Woodhouse, the Trailblazers got off to a tremendous start, hitting the first fourteen points of the game without reply. Derby also dominated the rebounding from the off, with Matt Shaw and a Sam O’Shea each gathering three defensive boards as Reading missed multiple attempts on basket.

More than five minutes had elapsed before the Rockets finally found the hoop and even then it took a shot clock beating three-pointer from Louis Sayers to break through Derby’s tenacious defence.

A Trailblazers turnover quickly followed, allowing Reading to get an easy score to trim the gap to 14-5. However, the introduction of Joel Madourie moments later gave Derby two quick scores, as the forward set off on his way to a game high 21 points.

By the end of the first quarter, the Trailblazers were 22-9 ahead, but there was better stuff to come from Derby. They started the second with a 15-6 run, with Madourie and Dave Attewell each adding six points along the way. Reading then closed out the quarter with a 7-2 burst which left the Trailblazers 39-22 ahead.

After that brief offensive improvement from Reading, it was important for Derby to re-assert themselves as quickly as possible in the third. They did so in style, with Simon Spencer dishing out a wonderful assist to a wide open Simon Allaway, who drained his first three of the game.

Shaw then made one from two at the line, but with O’Shea grabbing the offensive rebound from the missed shot, the Trailblazers captain was able to turn his miss into a two point basket. Allaway then nailed another three from the corner and after Reading turned the ball over, he looked all set to drain a third successive basket from down town.

However, the Rockets managed to foul the Trailblazers leading marksman as he went up for the shot. After a Reading time out, Allaway calming sank all three shots from the line to leave Derby 51-22 ahead just three minutes into the third quarter.

Moments later, Rockets American Ryan Lohfink was called for his fourth foul and was immediately subbed out of the game by Coach Sasa Punosevac. Dave Attewell made one from two at the line to give Derby their biggest lead of the game at 57-26.

With the game effectively over, Punosevac opted to give extended minutes to his academy players, who held their own remarkably well and even succeeded in trimming the final margin of Derby’s victory down from 31 to 21 points.

Coach Wiggins says the Trailblazers incredible start to the game left them well poised to bag a memorable victory:

“I thought we executed very well both offensively and defensively, particularly at the start of the game. We made it very difficult for them to play against us and that’s always pleasing. Our rebounding was superb and that helped spark our offence too.

“I think Reading will improve as the season goes on. They showed glimpses of that late in the game, but we had one or two lapses as well so maybe that helped them a little. But just as they will improve, so will we. This team can still deliver a lot more as the season progresses,” he said.

As well as singling out Derby’s outstanding defence, Wiggins was also keen to praise one of this season’s new recruits. Joel Madourie finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds:

“That was his best game for us so far and the simple reason is because he ran the floor well. He does what he does very well and we reward him by getting the ball forward to him so all he has to do is catch it and score. He also got us a lot of rebounds, so I’m really pleased with the way he’s progressing.

“The same was true of Sam [O’Shea]. He was full of flu, but he still gave his all and even in the final quarter he told me he could probably give me a couple of quality minutes and that’s what he did. However, at the end of the day, we got outstanding efforts from all of our guys,” he said.

So with Reading finally defeated, the focus now switches to next weekend’s league double header of Manchester at home and London Leopards away. The Trailblazers are yet to beat Manchester in the top flight and with Magic the only other unbeaten team in division one, it should be a cracker of a game at Moorways on Saturday. Tip off is at 7.30pm.

Reading: Parker 17, Kearney 12, L. Sayers 7, J. Sayers 6, Thoseby 5, May 4, McKay 3,   Alexandravicious 2, Falmagne 2, Lohfink 2, Gamble 0, Vaughan 0.

Derby: Madourie 21, Attewell 12, Spencer 12, Shaw 10, Allaway 9, Curtiss 6, O’Shea 5, Gayle 4, Baker 2.

 

Reading Rockets 60   Derby Trailblazers 81

Undefeated Derby Trailblazers stormed into Reading on Saturday overpowering Rockets from the tip and scoring 14 points without response in the opening period.  Though Rockets came back to take the latter stages of quarter one by 9 points to 8, they found themselves trailing 9 – 22 at the first break.

Derby's zone defence and clinical finishing, coupled to a poor floor shooting percentage by Rockets, were primarily responsible for the difference, though Rockets' rebounding was also way below the standard they set in their only other League game a week ago.  Robbie Parker and Simon Kearney gave the Rockets' supporters hope with spirit-lifting three point shots whilst a typical Dan McKay drive saw him turn a two point play into three by scoring the bonus point having been fouled when scoring.  Derby however had scored 9 more points from the free throw line so they went into the half time break with a 17 point lead at 39 – 22.

In the opening 4 minutes of quarter 3, Derby had hit three three-point shots and converted three from three from the line, with Rockets finding themselves with a 31-point deficit at 26 – 57.  With more penetration of Derby's effective zone defence, Rockets came back through Louis Sayers, Kearney and Parker, with Jason Sayers scoring with a double handed dunk as Rockets went into the final quarter 41 – 64 down.

The opening three minutes of the last period saw much of the best of Rockets' play, especially on the boards.  However Rockets couldn’t finish good moves and still found themselves 20 points adrift, though the play was much more competitive and exciting.  Parker hit five quick points and Kearney did likewise.  He also took a crucial charge to stop a Derby score, but still Rockets' floor shooting was well below par.

With Coach Sasa recognising victory was eluding Rockets, he played four of the youngest players for the last 3 minutes and they more than held their own with Adam Thoseby hitting a sweet three pointer to which he added 2 out of 2 from the penalty shooting line to give Rockets the fourth quarter 19 points to 17 but Derby ran out 81 points to 60 victors – their 18 more points than Rockets from the free throw line being decisive.

Top scorers Robbie Parker 17 points and 5 rebounds, Simon Kearney 12 points and 6 rebounds with Louis Sayers on 7 points.

W/e 8th November 2009

Bristol Academy Flyers 71 v Reading Rockets 70

In a game that even the Bristol coach acknowledged Rockets deserved to win, an ever improving Rockets left the south west with their heads held high though on the receiving end of a one point defeat, lost in the dying seconds.

Other than quarter two when three consecutive three pointers gave Bristol an 8 point lead, this was a game in which Rockets quashed the best of Flyer attacks, fought tenaciously all over the court and, but for a decision or two in their favour, or the final shot not rimming out, would have been a well fought victory.

Rockets began with new Belgian signing, Fenny Falmagne, recovered from his ankle injury to wear his first Rockets vest, though Jon May still didn't play any part.  The opening five minutes saw Rockets called for a number of fouls including an unsportsmanlike but with the Sayers brothers scoring with jump and hook shots with the taller Jason blocking a Flyers attack, Rockets looked more than just up for this League opener.  A Robbie Parker three and a finish from Dan McKay saw Rockets edge ahead by 9 points to 8.  With Ryan Lohfink and Dan McKay converting bonus points when being fouled, Rockets increased their lead to 4 points which they held till the end of the opening period at 24 points to 20.

With three tough calls on Rockets in the first couple of minutes of quarter two coupled to a technical foul awarded because of the assistant coach standing up, Rockets' flow was interrupted.  With Bristol hitting a trey of three pointers in this period, Rockets found themselves on the wrong end of a 16 – 4 run and finished the half 34 – 42 down.

A Jason Sayers rejection and some inspired play by McKay which saw him score 3 out of 4 from the foul line, hit a glorious three and off yet another determined drive, spray a superb pass out wide for Louis Sayers to score, led to an 18 points to 7 run and the recapturing of the lead.  Captain Lohfink again led by example and worked hard inside as Parker had a sweet scoring period of 7 points including a buzzer beating three.  With 6'11" Jason Sayers showing his versatility by stroking Rockets third three pointer of the quarter a 58 – 54 lead was established for the start of the final period.  

Rockets maintained that gap till half way through the final quarter when Bristol levelled on 62 points but new signing Fenny Falmagne scored three from four from the line before a Louis Sayers three saw Rockets 6 points up with two minutes to go.  A 50% conversion from the penalty stripe and a Bristol three saw Rockets lead dwindle to two points with 1 min 27 sec left.  Some tough defence from both sides saw Rockets holding this lead till 9 ½ seconds from time when Bristol captain Streete was fouled.  He only converted one but took the rebound when he was fouled again.  Though he hit both of the second pair to give Bristol a 1-point advantage, it was Rockets who had the last possession with 7.7 seconds left.

Surely a Dan McKay drive would be stopped with a foul and though he got bumped on his way to the basket, no foul was called as the ball went out of play.  With 1.7 seconds left, Rockets hit a shot to win the game but it just rimmed out and Rockets lost a game they deserved to win.

Another of the pleasing aspects was five of Rockets players in double figures with Ryan Lohfink 15, Dan McKay 13, Louis Sayers 12 and Robbie Parker and Fenny Falmagne on 11 apiece.

 

Hot Shot Allaway fires Derby to victory!

Derby Trailblazers  93  (23, 49, 70)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Coventry Crusaders  84 (14, 26, 50)   }

Derby’s incredible start to the season continued on Saturday as they beat Coventry Crusaders 93-84 to maintain their 100% record in all competitions.

The Trailblazers got off to a flying start, with Simon Allaway unstoppable from outside while both Martin Gayle and Sam O’Shea producing some strong play close to the hoop. They closed the first period with a 13-3 run to set up a 23-14 advantage.

The early part of the second period was relatively even, with both sides trading baskets. However, Derby turned up the defensive pressure and held Coventry scoreless for the final four minutes of the quarter.

At the other end, some superb team offence saw the Trailblazers piling in eleven unanswered points, the highlight of which was surely the final play of the period. Gayle stole the ball, set off down court, produced a buzzer beating lay-up and was fouled in the process, leaving him the chance of shooting a bonus with no time left on the clock. Needless to say, he did just that to leave Derby 49-26 ahead.

The Trailblazers began the next period with a 10-4 run, which included a monster dunk from Joel Madourie, who seems to improve with every game. That score gave Derby their biggest lead of the night, at 59-30 ahead three minutes into the third quarter.  

A three point play from Dave Attewell took the score to 68-42, after which Coventry unexpectedly began a late challenge. Eight unanswered points followed, before Attewell sank two from two at the free throw line to close the quarter 70-50 ahead.

The final ten minutes belonged to just one man. Coventry’s Stephen Danso began to produce drive after drive through Derby’s defence as he scored an astonishing 19 of his 35 points in the quarter. He received little support from his team-mates and didn’t appear to need it.

It was a one-man show to which the Trailblazers only real answer came from Allaway, who converted another trio of three-pointers, to finish the night with six out of nine from behind the arc. Not surprisingly, he was also Derby’s top scorer with 24 points.

In a night that saw some incredibly accurate shooting across the board, Gayle finished the night with a 100% strike rate, Madourie made 5 from 6, O’Shea 7 from 10 and Attewell 4 from 8, while Danso converted 12 of 14 from the field and 2 from 5 three-pointers for Coventry.

Assistant coach Jamie Maudsley was delighted to see Derby getting another win, but says the margin of victory should have been much bigger: “I think we mentally switched off a little bit after half time and eased our foot off the gas a bit too much and we just can’t afford to do that,” he said.

Derby: Allaway 24, O’Shea 15, Attewell 14, Gayle 13, Spencer 13, Madourie 10, Shaw 5, Baker 3, Curtiss 2, Bowen 0.

Coventry: Danso 35, Olinger 20, Taylor 12, Hudson 10, Eddon 7, Payne 0, Samuel 0, Francombe DNP.

 

W/e 1st November 2009

Arrows fight back falls short in the crunch

Leeds 101 Sheffield Arrows 78

The Arrows struggled in the opening half going into the break 16 points down, however after a rousing fight - back trailed by only 3 at 66 – 63 early in the fourth quarter before their inexperience saw them fall back to a 101 – 78 defeat. Ben Murray once again top scored for the Arrows with 24 but received great support from Sebastian Chitagu (19) and Semi Eboigbe (15).

The Arrows played a full part in a bright first half but could not match the scoring of a well fancied Leeds outfit despite the efforts of Semi Eboigbe and a nice alley – oop from Sebastian Chitagu. Pressure defence from Leeds made in difficult for the Arrows guards Oxley and Kelly to make headway as the Arrows trailed 30 – 46 at the interval.

The Arrows were a much different team in the third quarter as Luke Ellis began to make a telling contribution in the game as the Arrows defence led by Sam Spare controlled the Leeds attack while Ben Murray hurt Leeds in attack. The Arrows well marshalled by Ant Oxley closed to 63 – 60 as the third quarter came to a close.

Things got even better for the Arrows at the start of the fourth and final quarter as they closed to 63 – 66 and had chances to go ahead until a series of slips and good play from Leeds’s two American imports turned the game against the Arrows.

The game slipped away from the Arrows as they tried to challenge once again with a series of failed “3 pointers” which allowed Leeds to move to a flattering margin of victory at 101 – 78.

Arrows scorers; Ben Murray 24, Sebastian Chitagu 19, Semi Eboigbe 15

 

Magic Prevail Over Warriors in Halloween Thriller

Manchester Magic 66 – 63 Leicester Warriors

The fans at the Amaechi Basketball Centre were treated to a scintillating contest as the Manchester Magic narrowly prevailed over the newly promoted Leicester Warriors on Saturday night.

The Magic opened their 2009/10 league campaign with a 66-63 victory against a Warriors team that showed tremendous poise and came awfully close to what would have been a dramatic upset over a Magic side that remains undefeated this season. Stefan Gill and Brandon Kimbrough led the Magic with 25 and 24 points respectively but they were the only Magic players in double figures as the rest of the home team combined to score only 15 points.

The Magic took a 12 point lead when Kimbrough converted a layup with 5:33 left to play in the third quarter. But the Warriors stormed back into the game as they went on an 18-7 run behind the hot shooting of their Lithuanian guard Md Janiska. He scored eight of his 11 points in the third as the Warriors trimmed the Magic lead to 52-51 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Magic entered the final period ahead by slender margin but it didn’t last long as Warriors guard Tyler Kathan drained a 3-pointer from the left wing to put them ahead by two. The visitors sensed they were on the verge of an upset and surged further ahead when Michael Martin knocked down a pair of free throws but a long 3-pointer from Gill with 7:35 to play narrowed the gap to a single point.

The Magic struggled to look after the ball on the night committing 17 turnovers whilst registering just nine assists. They turned the ball over three times in quick succession late on which lead to a pull-up jumper by Warriors guard Mark Spatcher to put the visitors back up by four but Kimbrough nailed a close range jumper to half the deficit to two.

The home side needed a lift from someone other than Gill and Kimbrough and that was provided by David Watts. The reigning EBL Player of the year calmly sunk a fade-away jumper from the left side as the shot clock expired to tie the game at 61 with three minutes to play.

But the Warriors maintained their composure and Kathan hit a turnaround jumper on their next possession to restore his side’s two point advantage. The Warriors displayed tremendous strength in depth as four players scored 8 or more points and their reserves outscored their Magic counterparts by 23 points to 6. But the home team defended their court valiantly and Gill drilled a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key to put the Magic ahead by one.

After Janiska misfired from the field Leicester guard Carl Pearson stole the ball for the Warriors and set off on what appeared to be a fast break opportunity for the visitors. But he fumbled the ball and it was picked up by Magic forward Nathan Schall who kicked it ahead to Kimbrough who in return found Schall streaking towards the basket for a layup to put the Magic ahead by three for the final margin.

Top scorers:

Manchester Magic: Stefan Gill 25, Brandon Kimbrough 24, David Watts 6

Leicester Warriors: Tyler Kathan 15, Md Janiska 11, Joe Reynoso /Mark Spatcher 10

 

At Last! Derby win in Taunton

Taunton Tigers   72  (12, 28, 53)  } EBL Men’s Division One

Derby Trailblazers  76 (16, 39, 51)   }

Derby Trailblazers opened their division one campaign with a hard fought victory over Taunton Tigers, a side they had never previously beaten in Somerset.

Despite being without leading scoring Mark Woodhouse and point-guard Stedroy Baker, the Trailblazers had enough in their tank to maintain their 100% start to the season, to the delight of club captain Matt Shaw:

“Taunton are always very hard to beat at home, so it was nice to finally get the monkey off our backs and get a win on their court,” he said.

“I’ve not personally been to Taunton since Derby won the division two league title but I know how bad some of our other guys have felt coming down here year after year and never getting a win, so it means a lot to get that victory,” he explained.

Simon Allaway opened Derby’s scoring with a trademark three-pointer and Shaw quickly followed suit. Allaway then added another pair of threes as he continued to demonstrate deadly accuracy from beyond the arc. The quartet of long range strikes helped Blazers to open up an early 12-7 advantage.

Joel Madourie then scored a pair of quick baskets inside, before the Tigers closed the first quarter with five unanswered points. The early part of the second saw both sides trading baskets, with Tigers twice drawing level but never managing to get in front. Derby closed the period with seven unanswered points to take a 39-28 interval lead.

The third quarter began with a fourth trey for Allaway, but Derby then began to struggle in the face of some stifling defence. The Tigers went on a 15-2 run, with Tim Clifford knocking down eight consecutive points including a pair of three-pointers, to cut Derby’s lead to 43-44 with just less than four minutes of the third quarter remaining.

A Derby time-out had the desired effect of stopping Taunton’s momentum and refocusing the Blazers, although the Tigers did briefly get their noses in front at 51-49 and again at 53-51. Any fear that the game could be slipping away from the Trailblazers was quickly dispersed as they opened the final period with a 12-3 run, which included two more three-pointers from Shaw.

A further 9-0 burst effectively sealed Derby’s first ever win in Taunton, although a flurry of late three-pointers from Tim Clifford and Joe Andrews helped Tigers made the final score-line look as if a much closer game had ensued.

Trailblazers captain Matt Shaw was relieved to see Derby finally ending the Tigers home court domination of his side, but says the Trailblazers had to work extremely hard for the win:.

“We got off to a great start, mainly because of how well [Simon] Allaway keeps knocking down three-pointers for us at the moment. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to keep getting the ball to him throughout the game, but we had some other people who stepped up and we were able to keep the momentum going.  

“They came out very strong in the third quarter and if anything they were more physical than ever. I don’t think there’s any such thing as an easy score against them and I reckon they’ll get a lot of good results at home and maybe one or two surprises on the road. They’re certainly not going to be in a relegation fight this season,” he said.

Derby have a double-header next weekend when they face Coventry Crusaders in the league on Saturday and Loughborough Student Cardinals in the third round of the National Cup on Sunday.

 Taunton: T. Clifford 14, Yablsey 14, Andrews 11, R. Anderson 10, Rickwood 10, Page 9, K. Anderson 2, Mills 2, S. Clifford 0, Davies 0, Howe 0, Sebire 0.

Derby: Allaway 20, Attewell 12, Shaw 12, Madourie 10, Spencer 9, Gayle 7, O’Shea 6, Bowen 0.

 

W/e 25th October 2009

Leopards’ coach John Burnell was without Carl Latham-Henry for both games over the weekend, with Marlan Henry missing Saturday’s fixture and Steve Campbell not available for Sunday.

Leopards somehow managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on Saturday as they went down 72-69 in north London.

Despite Leigh Greenan’s 28 points, the Big Cats threw away a double digit lead in the fourth period, and failed to score in the final three minutes.

The visitors suffered against Mets’ physical full-court press, but ultimately the unavailability of Latham-Henry and Henry saw the short handed Leopards slip to defeat.

Leopards led 55-53 going into the final quarter, and they opened the period strongly as Francesco Rinaldi poured in seven points in a 9-0 run to put them 64-53 ahead with six minutes remaining.

Former Leopard Laurent Irish launched a 10-0 run with an and-one, and with Dave Ajumboi hitting a trey in the tear, the hosts made it a one point ball game.

When Baker scored from the Land of Plenty and De Ferrari followed up with a jump shot, it appeared that Leopards were back in control.

However, at that stage they produced a truly amazing catalogue of errors as they repeatedly turned the ball over, and when they did break the Mets’ press, some poor shot selection ensured that they didn’t trouble the scorer again.

Monseur Mbeye cut the visitors’ lead to 69-68 with 90 seconds remaining after a poor pass from Greenan, and even when Mbeye was given a technical foul for elbowing Michaelides, the Leopards’ player evened things up by retaliating.

The home side grabbed the lead with a pair of Ajumboi free-throws, and the same player made it 71-69 with a single point from the charity stripe as Leopards were forced to foul to stop the clock.

Michaelides turned the ball over after a Burnell time-out, and Jeff Danchie added Mets’ final point from the line, and even when Rinaldi grabbed the rebound after Baker’s three point attempt rimmed out with two seconds remaining, he stepped out of bounds to end a frustrating afternoon for the Big Cats.

Greenan again led the Big Cats in the following day’s game, finishing with a 20 point, ten rebound double-double, while Henry added 15 and Gareth Laws 13.

The home side led 22-16 at the first break, but the visitors fought back to lead 38-34 going into the locker room and extended that lead to 54-48 at the final break before outscoring the Big Cats 20-15 in the final period.